Amidst such a multitude of gods as they worship, they still acknowledge a superior deity, to whom they attribute the creation of the heavens and the earth.[17] This first cause of all things was, among the Mexicans, without a name; there being no word in their language whereby to express his attributes. They only signified that they knew him by looking towards heaven with veneration, and giving him, after their way, the attribute of ineffable, with the same religious uncertainty as the Athenians worshipped the Unknown God. They believed in the immortality of the soul, and in future rewards and punishments. They buried great quantities of gold and silver with their dead, in a belief that it was necessary to bear their expenses through a long and troublesome journey. They put to death some of their servants to accompany them; and it was a common thing for wives to consummate the exequies of their husbands by their own deaths. Princes were obliged to have monuments of vast extent, for the greatest part of their riches and family were interred with them; both the one and the other in proportion to their dignity and grandeur. The whole of the servants were obliged to accompany the prince into the other world, together with some flatterers among them; who, at that time, suffered for the deceit of their profession. The marriage was a kind of contract, with some religious ceremonies. The preliminary articles being all agreed upon, the couple appeared in the temple, and one of the priests examined their inclinations by certain formal questions, appointed by law for that purpose. He then took the tip of the woman’s veil with one hand, and one corner of the husband’s garment in the other, and tied them together at the ends, to signify the interior tie of their affections. Thus they returned to their habitation, accompanied by the same priest; where, imitating the Romans with regard to their _dii Lares_, or household gods, they paid a visit to the domestic fire, which they believed concerned in the union between the married pair. They went round it seven times, following the priest; after which they sat down to receive their equal share of the heat, and this accomplished their marriage. They registered in a public instrument the portion brought by the bride, every part whereof the husband was obliged to restore in case they parted, which very frequently happened; for mutual consent was judged to be a sufficient cause for a divorce; a case in which the laws never interfered. When once thus dissolved, it was inevitable death for them to come together again. Inconstancy was punished with the utmost rigor.